Grim Duty
by Kimberly T
Summary: Another sequel to Aservis Roturier's excellent story 'Père Lachaise' (with a quick summary of her tale inside,) but which goes in an entirely different direction than my previous story 'Moving Forward'. All things, even all hopes and dreams, must eventually come to an end...
1. Grim Duty

**GRIM DUTY**

 **Another Sequel to** **Père Lachaise**

By Kimberly T.

 _Long Author's Note: Yes, this is another sequel to Aservis Roturier's excellent and touchingly tragic story_ _Père Lachaise_ _,_ _which can be found on her profile. That story really does something to me, feeding my plot bunnies much like the manga and anime that it's based on! Before you go any further, you really should consult my FFnet profile's Favorite Authors list for the link to Aservis Roturier's account, and then find and read "P_ _èr_ _e Lachaise", or you won't understand at all what's going on in this story. It's okay, I'll wait… (Patiently hums a little tune)_

 _But if you're quite sure you've read that excellent story already, and just want a quickie refresher on the most pertinent details, here they are:_

 _It starts in Paris and seven months after the end of the anime series II, after Ciel is turned into a demon and he and Sebastian leave Phantomhive Manor forever. Sebastian hates being contracted to Ciel now, sentenced to serve as a butler for Eternity and without the reward he'd rightly earned, and he's let the boy-demon know it too. And after Ciel has realized that Sebastian, the most important and dearest person in his entire world, now apparently loathes him and never wanted him for anything more than a meal, he falls into a deep depression. After getting Sebastian to list the ways that a demon can die, Ciel commits suicide. Only then does Sebastian realize how much he values Ciel for himself and his companionship, and manages to stop the demon-child at the very brink of death… but he can't revive him entirely; Ciel is left in a coma-like state, completely unresponsive to the world._

 _If you've read that story before, then you're doubtless aware that I wrote one sequel to it already, which Roturier was kind enough to post as the second chapter to her story with all credit due, and which turned into the prelude to my_ _'Moving Forward' series. That first sequel and series embraced the hope that Ciel could be successfully and fully revived from that comatose deathlike state, and he and Sebastian would eventually achieve the demonic version of a happily-ever-after; this sequel does not._

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Four years passed...

Four years, and thirteen souls.

Thirteen people who happened to be alone in the _Cimetière du Père-Lachaise_ at what was, for them, the wrong time... a time when Sebastian could sense no Grim Reapers anywhere nearby, for he could not risk any of them catching sight of him or of Ciel sleeping in his arms. He knew he could not risk a fight with any Reaper, not while burdened with the completely helpless demon-child, but he did not dare to leave Ciel alone to hunt on his own. Any time he stayed away for longer than a few minutes, the boy's weak breathing and heartbeat would grow even more shallow and sluggish, and that deathlike sleep would creep even closer to true death, the final ending that even a demon could succumb to.

For four years Sebastian wandered with Ciel in his arms, walking down the paths of Père Lachaise at random times of day and night and never taking the same route twice, always on the lookout for Grim Reapers and always looking for humans walking alone. Any human foolish or unlucky enough to be without a companion would be pounced on in a trice; Sebastian would snatch their souls, and let the bodies drop in their tracks while he ran before the shinigami could show up. He carried each precious soul back to where Ciel lay mindlessly waiting, never out of the demon's arms for more than the few seconds it took to pounce on the chosen victim.

Time and again Sebastian would carefully pry open the demon-child's mouth and slip the ethereally glowing meal down his throat, with entreaties to feed, grow stronger, and finally wake. Each time, Sebastian accompanied the feeding with fervent apologies for treating Ciel so harshly after he'd been turned into a demon, and with promises to do so much better in the future; to wait on him hand and foot again, to lavish him with loving attention morning noon and night, to do all that and more if he would just _wake up_. And with each feeding, a little color would return to Ciel's cheeks, and for a short while his heartbeat and breathing would grow a little stronger... but he never woke up, and sooner or later the breathing would slow and the deathlike pallor would return.

Sebastian acquired six souls for feeding to Ciel in just the first six weeks, but after that, finding victims became much more difficult; word had spread through Paris that people were being found dead in Père Lachaise without a mark on them, and few people went there alone anymore. Gendarmes made regular sweeps of the area, though they never found the killer; mere mortal policemen had little chance of catching a creature who could sense their approach from a great distance, and who could leap to the top of the Eiffel Tower if he was so inclined.

Early in the manhunt, one gendarme came through alone, with pistol in hand and courage in his stride; he became the seventh soul to slide past Ciel's lips. After that, the patrolmen came in groups as well. And Grim Reapers also began scouring the cemetery grounds on a regular basis; the humans might be mystified as to why those people had died without a mark on them but the shinigami clearly knew, and just as plainly were _not_ happy with a demon poaching souls in their jurisdiction.

Evading shinigami was much more difficult than evading humans, but Sebastian enhanced and fine-tuned his supernatural senses to notice them at a greater distance than ever before, long before they could feel his presence. He steered well clear of them at all times, and when there were too many shinigami in the vicinity to simply evade, he hid himself and the boy behind sorcerous wards that masked their demonic presence until the coast was clear. Finding souls that Sebastian could safely steal became ever harder over the years, but he persevered... always hunting, and always hoping that perhaps the next soul would be rich enough, substantial enough, to bring back the companion that he had realized (realized too late, he'd been such a fool!) was so precious to him.

Then came one gray and densely overcast sunset in spring, with the smell of rain heavy in the air; according to the calendars, winter was long past, but the damp evening chill still penetrated to the bone. Out walking with Ciel in the cemetery's eastern quadrant, Sebastian spotted a lone man pushing a wheelbarrow on another path only twenty yards away. A man dressed and equipped as a gardener, likely a caretaker for the cemetery grounds, not that Sebastian cared overmuch about his profession; only about the quality of his soul, and what benefit his little lord might get from it.

After passing the man without speaking and marking his apparent course in his mind, Sebastian walked into a conveniently near grove and carefully tucked the ever-sleeping boy up in the crook of a tree, and then sped down a path that he knew would intercept the gardener within seconds. Thirty yards away, fifteen—

And then a shrill whistle that seemingly came out of nowhere split the evening gloom. And the gardener in front of Sebastian, his back still turned, dropped the handles of his wheelbarrow to swiftly grab a sickle up out of it, while reaching up to his neck and snatching at the scarf he was wearing—a scarf that had been imbued with some sort of supernatural concealment spell, because as it fell away Sebastian could suddenly sense an unmistakable and terribly familiar pressure in the _aether_ between them; that man was no ordinary human, but a Grim Reaper!

 _TRAP_! Every particle of Sebastian's being screamed at him, as he spun about and raced back to where he'd left his little lord. And he was horribly proven right, when light flashed above the cemetery and a pair of Reapers dropped out of the sky right in front of him, armed with Deathscythes and grim expressions, and _between him and Ciel_!

But their auras marked them as relatively young Reapers, inexperienced whelps, while Sebastian had thousands of years of combat experience behind him. Rather than try to dodge between them, he headed right for the smaller of the two, then changed course and his running form at the last second to swing under the boy's jabbing garden shears, and give him a hard kick in the side that sent him crashing into his companion. While the two of them were entangled and trying not to skewer each other with their weapons, he put on a burst of supernatural speed as he leaped up into the tree behind them, scooped up Ciel, and took off running with his precious burden, intent on putting the far horizon between him and the three demon-hunting shinigami.

But the falling dusk was disrupted by more staccato flashes of light, as more Reapers popped out of their supernatural realm; another one directly in his path, and two more pairs to either side of him in a flanking maneuver. He spun about to see that the first two were already getting to their feet, and being joined by the one who had been disguised earlier. Eight Grim Reapers in all, and he recognized three of them as Grell Sutcliffe, Ronald Knox and William Spears!

There was no time to wonder why three British shinigami had come to Paris, and no need to wonder so many of them were after him all at once. He _leaped_ as high as he could manage, to escape the ring of foes closing in around him, and hit the ground thirty yards away already coiling to leap again. Eight on one is too many Grim Reapers for all but the most powerful demon to fight, and even then only if they had recently feasted and were at the full peak of their power.

Sebastian had been slowly starving even before meeting Ciel, and he hadn't eaten in the eight years since then; at first prevented from doing so by the contract, and then choosing instead to feed every soul he grabbed to Ciel, to keep the boy-demon from dying completely. While scarcely a weakling yet, he was far from his full strength and speed, and he knew it. But he had a demon's cunning and millennia of experience on his side, and he put it all to good use as he fled across the vast cemetery with a pack of Death Gods all but baying at his heels.

There were more flashes of light as he ran for the edge of the cemetery, but these were high in the sky and accompanied by rolling thunder; lightning danced as the storm that had been threatening for hours finally broke and began pouring down rain upon the city. On nights like this, Sebastian had generally stayed inside the cottage at the edge of the cemetery that he'd made into a small refuge for himself and Ciel; pouring rain made for poor hunting, as few humans ventured outside in such weather, and his little lord had always hated being caught in the rain. But he did not dare to take refuge in the cottage now; the sorcerous wards he'd wrapped around the dwelling would hold back one or two of any supernatural creature, but not the entire pack of Death Gods hunting him tonight! So he continued running, out into the city. If he could make it to the nearest entrance to the underground _Catacombes de Paris_ , only a few miles away, he knew he could lose the lot of them down in the Stygian black!

But though he managed to shake off up to half of his pursuers time and again, he never managed to lose all of them; dodging as they came at him from every angle, he was never able to make it to the catacombs and safety. He might have made it if he'd been willing to just drop Ciel and save himself, but he would not, _could not_ abandon his little one to the Death Gods' ruthlessness! If he'd still been human, the Reapers would have largely ignored him, but they thought of all demons as despicable vermin, interfering with their duty of collecting souls; they would just see Ciel as a demon that was particularly easy for them to dispose of!

So he kept running through the night and rain with his precious burden, kept dodging for hours through the alleys and across the rooftops of Paris. He kept running, and he kept killing as well; nearly every time he ran past some human caught out in the storm, he would free one hand from carrying Ciel for just an instant, just long enough to slash the unfortunate stranger in passing with razor-sharp claws through the neck, or simply punch them with enough force to cave in their skulls. He reasoned that if he created enough work for the Grim Reapers to do, they would break off their pursuit of him in order to collect all the souls he was leaving in his wake. But there were damn few humans out in such horrible weather, and even when he did find one and make a kill, other shinigami kept dropping in to collect the cinematic records while the main pack that had started the hunt for him maintained their pursuit. For Abaddon's sake, they must have roused most of the entire French division of Death Gods against him!

Over the hours, Sebastian used every trick for escape and evasion that he had learned over the millennia, and a few more that he invented on the spot... but it was never quite enough. And he eventually realized with a sickening certainty that not only could he not escape them, the Grim Reapers were _herding_ him back towards the cemetery.

And finally, back in the cemetery and not long after midnight, his time and the last shreds of his devilish luck ran out. He was dodging around the tomb of Molière when he heard a _shunk_! and felt an agonizing impact in his left leg. He jerked and stumbled, and only barely managed to roll as he fell and avoid landing on his boy. Breathless from the sudden impact with sodden turf , he looked down at his leg through a white haze of pain, and saw the blades of William Spears' extending pruner poking through his left calf for an instant before the weapon was retracted back to its owner.

And the hounds fell on their prey at last, with shouts of "We've got him!", " _Capturez les jambes_!" and "Mind his claws!" Snarling and roaring like the beast he was, he managed to bloody a few of them as they fought, but they eventually got him facedown and spread-eagled on the ground, with his helpless little Ciel wrested away from him.

Wrenching his head to one side and spitting out mud and sodden grass, he cried out desperately, "The boy is no threat to you!" as his gazed raked back and forth, searching for—there lay Ciel, being held by a Reaper clad in red!

His scarlet hair liberally spattered with mud and his fashionable clothing tattered and torn, Grell Sutcliff looked down at the unconscious boy-demon in his arms, shaking his head and remarking sadly, "All this fuss, over all this time, for such a scrawny little brat..."

Forcibly pinning down Sebastian's left arm, a bloody-nosed William Spears glared through his cracked glasses and barked at his subordinate, "Set Phantomhive down, Sutcliffe; let Jacques Dubois do his job!"

Grell nodded with uncharacteristic somberness and set Ciel down on the grass, while the Grim Reaper that had posed as a gardener and baited their trap earlier, stepped up while brandishing an old-fashioned sickle. "It is an assignment long overdue," the shinigami said in heavily accented English. "Work that I would have completed four years ago, but for the interference of a certain foolishly stubborn vermin," as the Reaper's lip, decorated with a slim mustache, pulled back from his teeth in a contemptuous sneer directed over his shoulder at the demon.

" _ **Noooo**_!" the despairing howl ripped from Sebastian's throat, as that sickle Deathscythe flashed down and pierced Ciel's chest; as that slender body gave one last infinitesimal shudder before stilling forever, and the boy's cinematic record came reeling up out of the wound the Reaper had made.

"Ciel Phantomhive. Born 14 December 1875," as the Death God began droning on the blunt and minimal statistics of the former earl's life, but Sebastian barely heard him, as all his attention was focused on the cinematic record unspooling in front of him. He was helpless to do anything but watch the life story of the human child he had somehow come to cherish and treasure:

Ciel had enjoyed a happy childhood, adored by his parents, the subject of much affection from all the servants of the old mansion (there was Tanaka, his eyes clear and sharp as Sebastian had so rarely seen them, but his smile as fond as always while gazing down at the young master playing), and rejoicing in having a playmate his own age whenever his cousin Lizzie came over. A happy childhood that was blasted apart, destroyed within minutes when his family was murdered and his home burned down, and he was kidnapped and sold to cultists.

There followed a month of enduring horrors and cruelties that even the demon Sebastian had never perpetrated on his prey. Ciel had helplessly watched all the other caged children die one by one until he was the only one left, and then been dragged out onto the altar... and then watched in awe but no fear as a demon appeared (he'd never feared him, had felt occasional wariness but never fear of the demon, he had been such an incredible child!)

The cultists were all killed at Ciel's command, and then the manor was rebuilt in an instant, but it took many months of hard work for the boy to rebuild his life and remake himself, to become someone worthy to carry the hereditary title the Queen bestowed on him: the Watchdog of the Underworld. And through it all, his loyal demon stayed by his side, his new Sebastian (if only the demon had understood then that the name of the boy's deceased hound had been given as an _honor_ , not a slur on his status!)

They had adventures across the width and breadth of England, one by one gathering other servants who doubled as soldiers, making bold forays into the Underworld and more cautious forays into High Society. The boy had suppressed his horror and grief beneath a stone-hard mask when his beloved aunt was first revealed to be the human half of Jack the Ripper, and almost immediately murdered in front of his eyes by a Grim Reaper. He'd been bewildered by the continuing affections of his cousin and betrothed Lizzie, and by the arrogant, clumsy overtures of friendship offered by a Bengali prince (the boy had secretly thought he wasn't _worthy_ of the love that shone from such bright souls; why hadn't Sebastian told him differently?)

Further horror, at realizing his former life had been ripped apart by an angel gone mad. The shock of betrayal by Lau, and the already-damned boy's guilt at seeing a good man die in his stead (Sebastian could have saved Abberline, _should_ have saved him, another way he'd failed his master!) Desperation and knowing deprivation once more, as the boy strove to make his way alone from Paris back to London (Unforgiveable, testing his contractor like that, Sebastian should have _known_ the boy had escaped being tainted by Ashrael, he should have known better!)

His vision blurred as he continued watching, and Sebastian realized that he was _weeping_ like some weak human when the record showed his brave little master honorably offering his soul up to his loyal servant, the way the contract should have ended (and would have if not for that execrable pair, Claude and Alois Trancy!) Seeking to hide that final humiliation from his foes, Sebastian turned his face away as the record continued spooling out—but only for a few moments before he felt compelled to watch again, to see his little lord in action one last time:

Ciel resuming his noble and Watchdog duties with characteristic fierceness, despite becoming painfully aware of gaping holes in his memory (Sebastian should have told him everything, should have trusted his master to _understand_ and to honor their contract, instead of quietly manipulating him like he was just another hapless soon-to-be-meal!) All the hateful encounters Ciel had endured from Alois Trancy and Claude... finally experiencing grim satisfaction in killing that blond-haired pretender to nobility, but in short order realizing true horror when he became _a captive inside his own body_ as Alois's spirit possessed him!

Sebastian had failed his little lord in so many ways during that terrible time, the demon realized as more of those foreign _tears_ burned in his eyes. Including the most glaring failure of all, failing to prevent Hannah from contracting with Alois-in-Ciel's-body and turning Ciel himself into a demon! The cinematic record played on past that point, before ending on a last few miserable frames:

Ciel in the cemetery with Sebastian, asking how a demon could die. ( _ **Why**_ hadn't he realized then what the boy had in mind?!) Going off alone to buy a straight razor. Returning to the hotel room they shared, offering one last desperate attempt to make Sebastian happy... and being cruelly refused ( _idiot_ , _**idiot**_ , DAMNED FOOL!) Drawing a bath, while pulling that familiar swallowtail coat out of their luggage. Breathing in a few last wisps of comforting scent from the coat, before making the first slash with the razor... the final frame showed only the bathwater stained crimson.

And then the record was gone.

Ciel was gone.

Dead, forever lost to him, despite everything he'd done. Sebastian turned his face back to the mud, and waited for the Grim Reapers still holding him down to strike his own death blow.

And he waited...

And then he realized that no one was holding him anymore. That sometime while the cinematic record was being reviewed, they had all let go of him and stepped back, and he hadn't even noticed.

And scant moments after he realized that, he felt something prodding him in his side and heard Spears' voice saying irritably, "Get up, demon; you and I both know you're not that badly hurt."

Getting up seemed like too much effort just then. But when Spears wedged a shoe under his torso and lifted upwards in an effort to turn him over, he stirred himself enough to roll face-up. He found himself staring up at the leader of the British division of Death Gods, who frowned down at him with Deathscythe poised and ready while saying, "I'm sure you neither know nor care how much overtime that your stubborn refusal to accept the inevitable, has cost the entire Grim Reaper Association in this joint endeavor."

"My apologies for inconveniencing you," Sebastian responded dryly.

"Insincere apologies, as expected," William Spears declared with a snort. The storm that had descended upon the city hours ago had finally subsided, into a misting drizzle that dripped down from the Grim Reaper's black and no-longer-neatly-coifed hair. But the glasses Sebastian had damaged during their struggle were evidently still serviceable; the shinigami pushed them back into place with a gloved finger as he stated, "I want you to realize, demon, that all the harm you've done in the last four years, all your poaching of souls that you had no contractual claim to, did nothing but delay the inevitable. Ciel Phantomhive was _never_ going to return to you as a demon, nor as a human." And those blunt words hurt Sebastian in a manner that even the Deathscythe through his leg had not.

After a pause to let that sink in, or possibly to wait for a response that Sebastian had no interest in giving to him, Spears added with an arched eyebrow, "I trust you also realize that it is against Grim Reaper policy, to let a captured demon go free to continue eating souls."

Sebastian still said nothing. The Death God continued, "Based on the Parisian branch's findings, you have taken an estimated thirteen souls in the past four years, demon. _You will not leave this place alive._ However," as Spears unexpectedly pulled away his Deathscythe and took a step back, "You once aided the London branch of the Grim Reaper Association, in putting an end to the mass slaughter of humans being committed by the insane angel Ashrael, that was costing the entire department massive amounts of overtime. In light of your accomplishment, it has been decided that you will be allowed... one final dignity, if you will.

"As ancient as we believe you are, you are doubtless aware of the customs of ancient Greece and Rome. They allowed condemned aristocrats to drink hemlock or fall upon their own swords, rather than suffer the indignity of being killed by others." Spears' free hand went to his belt, and for the first time the demon noticed that he had a second weapon there, a two-foot-long wooden shaft topped by a horizontal curved blade; a primitive scythe such as had been used by farmers at the start of the Iron Age.

Spears drew the weapon and laid it on the ground next to Sebastian's hand, before backing up to join the ring of silent Grim Reapers encircling the demon. "That is a trainee's Deathscythe. While unrefined, it has the same basic power as any Deathscythe wielded by a Grim Reaper, and would be enough to kill a demon. You are permitted to take it up and do yourself in. But if you make one move to wield it against any of us, you will be instantly dispatched with extreme prejudice."

Moving slowly, the demon sat up and grasped the weapon, looking it over with something that might be akin to wonder as the gentle rain pattered down upon it. He was vaguely cognizant that the honor that had been offered to him was extremely rare; indeed, this was the first time he had ever heard of a Grim Reaper making such an offer to one of his kind.

He supposed he could leap up and over the ring surrounding him, and flee into the night; all the shinigami surrounding him looked exhausted by the night's long chase and battle, and an unexpected burst of speed right now just might be enough to let him escape them. Another demon would have instantly done so, and gleefully taken the weapon with him as a trophy, a reminder of how foolishly honorable even Grim Reapers can be at times.

Or he supposed he could take up the weapon and try to kill as many Death Gods as he could before he was cut down. The only material that could stop a Deathscythe was another Deathscythe; Spears had just given the demon a means of blocking their blows, an advantage if they began fighting anew...

But he just didn't feel the need to bother with either option. He was _tired_ , weary to the core of his essence, and aching with the loss of his Ciel. In all his millennia, he had never before encountered another soul as exquisite as that child's, never had a contractor so vexing and yet so oddly satisfying even while he served. And then when the boy had been turned into a demon against his will, he'd _wasted_ their months together, preoccupied with sulking over the loss of his well-earned meal, instead of actively trying to work out a solution with Ciel that would see them both fed; instead of realizing that he had been granted an immortal companion that he actually _liked_ , and who liked him back! He'd _wasted_ all that, and... After so much wasted, there really seemed _no point_ to existing further.

So, how did one kill oneself with a junior deathscythe? The Romans had fallen on their swords, but this weapon's blade was simply not shaped the correct way for dying in such a fashion; it was meant to be swung from the side. He supposed he could lop off both his legs and simply bleed to death. His Ciel had bled himself to death; such an end would be fitting... But no, that was not likely to work either. As old and powerful as he was, his demonic physiology would likely seal over the stumps before he bled out from the wounds.

...There was another way at hand. He slowly stood up with the weapon, and looked off to the right, where Grell stood in the circle of Reapers, that chainsaw Deathscythe held up in the shinigami's grip but currently silent. "Grell Sutcliffe," he murmured. "After all the aid you gave my master and I, back when he was still human... at the very least, I believe I owe you one final dance, dear lady. You may make it as bloody as you please."

"Ohhh, _Bassy-chan_!" as the Death God's phosphorescent-green eyes sparkled behind the glasses, cheeks blushed pink with pleasure and pointed teeth showed in a truly disturbing grin. The chainsaw revved up joyously as the Reaper stepped forward—

" _Sutcliffe_!" Spears barked angrily.

The scarlet-clad shinigami gave a start at his superior's voice, and seemed to wilt for a moment as the chainsaw's rough song of destruction died... but then the roar resumed, as Grell straightened up and a small measure of that toothy smile returned. He held the swiftly rotating blade out in front of him, pointing straight forward and at chest height as he said, "If you're ready for the release of oblivion, my sweet Bassy-chan... come and get it."

So it was to be like that, then. Not what he'd expected, but he could easily adapt. The demon stood tall, and clothed himself once more in the proper uniform of Sebastian Michaelis, butler to the earl of Phantomhive, from the polished silver emblem on his breast to the perfectly ironed tips of his tailcoat.

He took three measured steps towards the shinigami that fancied himself a lady, and then gave him/her exactly what was expected of any well-bred servant, upon meeting a fine lady...

A deep bow. Which incidentally let him fall face-first onto the chainsaw, cutting himself open from crown to sternum.

As immeasurable agony ripped through him, Sebastian had one last thought before the blackness of oblivion claimed him forever: _Goodbye, my lord_.

.

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.

...and then he opened his eyes.

That was decidedly unexpected.

Also unexpected was the voice coming from somewhere off to his right, saying irritably, "Finally! This entire affair has taken far too long for any manager's liking."

He tore his gaze away from the stark white ceiling above him to look over to the right, to see the voice's owner... or rather, try to see him. But all he saw was a person-shaped blur of black with bits of pink here and there; why could he not see clearly?

"You'll be wanting these, then," the familiar voice said, and something was brought near his face—spectacles, like he had worn when acting as a tutor to his young lord, though with a much less elegant shape to the frames. But they had true corrective lenses installed, for when they were fitted in place he finally saw clearly who was sitting next to him: William T. Spears, once more clothed and groomed immaculately and with his spectacles mended as well.

"What...?" Sebastian began, before his voice trailed off rather helplessly; so many questions swirled about in his mind, he had no idea which to ask first.

"Since you're already familiar with the Grim Reaper Association, I'll save time by skipping over the basic orientation lecture. That leaves just a few items to cover," and Spears began ticking points off his fingers. "Yes, you're a Grim Reaper now, as is young Phantomhive. He's already awoken, had his orientation lecture, and been shown around the facilities by Ronald Knox; he should be attending his first class with the current crop of trainees as we speak. You'll be joining his class after we get you—"

"But _**how**_?!" Sebastian blurted out, unable to stop himself as he sat up on—a cot, he was in some sort of dormitory, or perhaps infirmary. "I am a _demon_ to the core! A demon cannot become... cannot... _how_?!"

Spears frowned at him in disapproval. "How disappointing; I see I shall have to cover some of the orientation lecture with you after all. You may not be aware that some humans who commit _suicide_ are, for reasons known only to the Power On High, chosen to become Grim Reapers. Some speculate that it's meant as a punishment for taking their own lives, and it certainly can feel like a punishment, particularly when you have to put in large amounts of overtime on certain occasions," as he gave Sebastian a meaningful glare.

"Granted that neither you nor young Phantomhive were human at the time of your deaths, but evidently the boy had enough humanity left in him to qualify, since his name appeared on the list of souls to collect four years ago with the annotation that he qualified for Grim Reaper recruiting. When the Parisian branch first attempted to collect him but found themselves thwarted by your taking him away, they at first made the reasonable assumption that you had killed him and eaten his soul before he could actually die by his own hand. But then the Undertaker came to them with the information, though no one knows just _how_ he learned it, that young Phantomhive had been turned into a demon by some opponent of yours who chose to ruin your dinner."

Sitting back in his chair, Spears continued, "That put things in an entirely different light. There were several discussions between the branches about your and young Phantomhive's history together, until it was finally decided to put you under remote but constant observation for a solid month, using an aetherscope. And once we were finally able to track you down—which took an appalling amount of time, by the way, but Sutcliffe persevered; his ridiculous obsession with you actually proved useful for once—what we observed, Michaelis, was decidedly _un_ -demonlike behavior on your part."

Sebastian could hardly deny that; no other demon would have bothered to try to revive Ciel at all, and certainly not spent years further starving themselves to feed him. Spears continued, "So after a great deal _more_ discussion that involved every single level of management, it was decided to conduct a Demon Hunt that would be a joint effort between the London and Paris branches of Dispatch; between those who knew the territory best, and those who knew _you_ from past encounters. But rather than simply kill you after finally freeing young Phantomhive from his barely-living shell, it was decided to offer you the chance, though it was a very slim chance indeed, to qualify for Grim Reaper candidacy and possibly join him in the next life."

Nudging his glasses up once more, Spears added, "I quite honestly doubted that it would work, for several reasons, the primary being that despite your kind having cinematic records, no demon has ever evidenced having a soul worth reaping by appearing on the To Die list. Nor had your name been on the list two days ago, though several of your victims during the hunt were."

"Two days ago?" Sebastian found himself asking.

"You had been in existence long enough that it took a full day and night to finish reviewing your cinematic record!" as Spears glared at him for interrupting. "And by the by, you had best be grateful that we didn't know until _then_ that you were responsible for introducing the Black Death to Europe! Plenty of the seniors here still remember how much overtime they had to put in to cover all the deaths that occurred during those years. But the decision to attempt your conversion had already been made, by that point your essence was already beginning the transition from demon to Grim Reaper, and now here you are."

"Is he awake yet?" came another, painfully familiar voice from outside the room, and then Grell Sutcliffe poked his head in through the doorway, grinning wide at the sight of him. "Oh, he is! Welcome to Reaper-hood, Sebastian darling! I'm sure you'll love it here; as much as _I'll_ love showing you the ropes!"

"Absolutely not," Spears said flatly. "You are to be in no way involved with Michaelis's training. Not only would your obsession with him interfere with giving him an objective review, but the last thing we need is for a former demon to think that your work ethic is acceptable and to be emulated on duty!"

As Sutcliffe and Spears argued, Sebastian sat back with a sigh and finally accepted that _yes_ , he was a Grim Reaper now. He had tried to change his form _twice_ while Spears had been talking, but found it impossible; he was now locked into this one body... though since it evidently looked the same as the form he had assumed when he had first made the contract with his little lord, it suited him well enough.

A demon becoming a Grim Reaper after death. He would have thought it impossible, but up until very recently in his existence, he had also thought it impossible for a demon to truly love a human. It seemed the universe still had surprises in store for him... Not entirely unwelcome surprises, either.

With this new existence came new possibilities for him, but he could already foresee several difficulties ahead. In the likely order of their ascending difficulty:

First, convincing Grell Sutcliff that even though they were evidently the same supernatural species now, he had absolutely no desire to pursue a relationship with him.

Second, joining his Ciel in training and convincing him that he was truly, sincerely regretful of how horribly he had treated his young master after his conversion to demon and that yes, he _did_ want to pursue a relationship with him, in whatever form it would take now that they were essentially equals.

Third, finding his own place and rank in this new community. Before, he had been a powerful demon of considerable rank, but now he was plainly just another new recruit... one that would no doubt encounter a great deal of prejudice against him, judging by what Spears had just said. He would have to work hard to not only adapt to this new way of living, but overcome that prejudice and earn the respect of his superiors.

Would he be able to accomplish all that?

Then he smiled to himself. Of course he would... It should go without saying that Sebastian Michaelis was going to make one hell of a Grim Reaper.

.

THE END


	2. Grim Aftermath

**Grim Aftermath**

 _(Sort-of a Sequel to the Sequel)_

By Kimberly T.

 _(reposted after adding an extra scene near the end)_

Thanks for reading 'Grim Duty'! Some of you who read it may be disappointed to learn that I won't be writing out another multi-chapter epic based on it, as I'd done for the first sequel in which Ciel was revived while still a demon. 'Moving Forward' was a joy to write, but I had a specific background to build most of the story on, based on my research of France and Italy and one short trip I took to Italy decades ago. But so far, we haven't seen nearly enough of the Grim Reaper realm and community to satisfy my need for a firm base to build full stories on.

I could just Make Shit Up, of course; people who've read my ATLA fanfics know that I enjoy world-building, extrapolating from canon and RL similarities to enrich the background and even help drive the plot of my stories. However, much like our favorite pair of perfectionists, I strongly dislike being seen by others as incorrect about anything. So you could say that it goes against my aesthetics, to create a world in fanfic that I know could end up being completely contradicted by the still-ongoing canon. (Especially since some reviewers for my ATLA fanfic feel obliged to tell me that some part of the world-building I'd done for the stories, goes against the canon for the new post-ATLA comics series. Look, those comics hadn't even been published when I'd written those story chapters, okay?)

HOWEVER, I have had quite a few ideas for what Sebastian and Ciel would do and have done to them, now that they're both Grim Reapers. And I thought I'd share those ideas with you here, for those of you who, like me, always want to know What Happens Next:

After getting properly dressed as a trainee (and of course he manages to rock that uniform, too), Sebastian is indeed taken to the training facility and introduced to the class already in session. Word that a former demon is joining the class has proceeded his arrival, and everyone, even the teacher, stares at him warily... Except Ciel. After just one quick glance at him, Ciel looks down at his textbook and then refuses to look at him again for the rest of the class.

After that first day of training is over, Sebastian tries to get Ciel alone so they can talk, so he can express his sincere apologies for the horrible way he'd treated Ciel before the boy's suicide, and ask about starting afresh in their new, greatly changed circumstances. But he finds himself deliberately thwarted when Ronald Knox comes up to escort Ciel home, and bluntly tells Sebastian he's NOT invited along.

William Spears had mentioned to Sebastian upon his waking up that (a) Ciel had preceded him to the Reaper Realm, and (b) Ronald Knox had given him a tour of the facilities. But what William hadn't bothered to say was that, like Sebastian himself, Ciel was a highly unusual case for a Reaper recruit.

My headcanon is that many children have committed suicide over the centuries, though the very youngest suicides (say, 8 and under) are sent on to their proper afterlife instead of becoming Grim Reapers. Those who choose to kill themselves and are old enough to be fully cognizant of what death truly is and what they're doing, end up in the Grim Reaper realm, but the children are fostered out to afterlife couples and raised in more-or-less-families until they mature enough to handle an adult's duties. Which, considering how very slowly Grim Reapers apparently age (judging by the timeline of that one Reaper-centric OVA), means it could be a few hundred years before they begin training to handle Deathscythes or take on other duties in the processing of souls.

After living only thirteen years, Ciel could have been fostered out for the next couple of centuries before even being formally beginning Grim Reaper training. But it was common knowledge that Ciel was mature far beyond his years; he had been successfully carrying out an adult's duties in British society long before he died. And as Spears often grumbles, the Grim Reapers are terribly understaffed for their workload; that being the case, Spears created a special circumstance for young Phantomhive. He would join the current crop of trainees, learning as one of them, but he would not be staying in the same dormitory that all the other trainees lived in. Instead, he would spend his off-training hours living with an elderly administrator named Ruth O'Sullivan, whose home is right next door to Ronald Knox's place. And since Ms. O'Sullivan had spent her afterlife career behind a desk instead of 'in the field' collecting souls, Ronald Knox was told he would make himself available to show Ciel around and answer any questions the young teen might have, his primary duties permitting.

For all his many and cheerfully admitted flaws, there are some things Ronald takes very seriously, such as mentor-trainee relationships; the manga illustrated that he is respectful to 'Grell-senpai' no matter what outrageous thing that Reaper does while they're on a case together. When Spears told him that if they were successful in retrieving Phantomhive from the demon's grasp, Knox would be the one to show their newest Reaper around and answer questions (while Spears dealt with the demon), Ronald made the relatively reasonable assumption that he would be mentoring the youngster in Reaping souls. He was surprised at the honor, seeing that he was barely out of training himself, but silently promised that he would live up to the trust Spears had shown in him.

And that is how Ciel, who was still rather dazed at waking up at all after dying in a bathtub in Paris, let alone wake up changed yet again (born a human, turned into a demon, and now he's a Grim Reaper?! Will he be sprouting angel wings next?) abruptly found himself with a big-brother-figure. One who introduced himself with a cheerful, "Hi, kid! Uh, wait, you hate being called a kid, don't you. [ _Ron had never met Ciel face-to-face in the anime; he only knew that because he'd seen it in Ciel's cinematic record_.] But I'm not calling you 'my lord' either, because you're not an earl anymore, now that you're a Grim Reaper; we don't do that 'nobility' stuff here. So... I'm Ronald Knox, but my friends all call me Ronnie. Can I call you Ciel?"

Dazed and disoriented as he was upon awakening as a Reaper, Ciel was still far from stupid. Realizing that he'd been cut off from all his earthly wealth and status, knowing that he would need an ally and source of information at the very least in order to gain his footing in this new realm, he smiled his sunniest smile while offering his hand for a handshake and saying, "I'd like that very much, Ronnie."

It wasn't until the next day, after he had been shown around, settled into Ms. O'Sullivan's home, and introduced to his trainer and fellow students in Reaping 101, that Ciel learned that there was a slim chance that Sebastian would also be joining the Reaper ranks. But Ronald told him firmly that even if the demon did end up converting into a Grim Reaper—which Ronald thought was pretty unlikely, no matter what Grell-Senpai thought—Ciel could just ignore the bastard and not have to associate with him at all, and if Sebastian started bothering him, Ronald would be happy to put the ex-demon in his place.

Ronald had witnessed Ciel's cinematic record before 'porting back to the Reaper Realm to be there when Ciel woke up in his new body, so he'd seen how coldly Sebastian had treated Ciel once the boy had become a demon. And Ronald had _not_ seen, because he'd never looked through the aetherscope Grell had used for spying on Sebastian and because Ciel had not been in any state to perceive his surroundings after his suicide, how tenderly the elder demon had treated Ciel while trying to revive him for the last four years. So it should be no surprise that Ronald thought of Sebastian as one cold and cruel prick that Ciel (and the Grim Reaper ranks) would be better off without.

Ciel, on the other hand, was struck anew by guilt when Ronald informed him that Sebastian had died and might be converting into a Reaper as well, because he became silently but horribly sure that it was all his fault. That when he'd committed suicide, he had somehow dragged Sebastian down with him, in the manner that the death of one conjoined twin inevitably means the death of the other [ _the eponymous Siamese Twins lived and died in the Victorian era, so Ciel would likely know of the concept_.] He and Sebastian had been linked not by veins and vital organs, but by their contract and that terrible command, that the ancient demon would remain his butler until he'd eaten the last scrap of Ciel's soul. When Ronald mentioned offhand that his suicide had actually occurred a few years ago, but Sebastian had been keeping him barely alive until the Reapers hunted him down, Ciel imagined that Sebastian had spent those years dragging him about like a ball-and-chain, grudgingly stuffing souls down his throat while cursing him for his stupidity in trying to end the contract that way, and now hates the boy more than ever.

So poor Sebastian found the challenges of his new life to be harder than even he'd expected; Ciel couldn't even stand to look at him, let alone talk with him, and everyone else was blatantly prejudiced against him. But he reminded himself that demons are used to being hated and alone, so the situation was nothing new and nothing he couldn't handle... But then it got worse. Because William Spears, not out of malice but because he honestly hadn't thought it necessary, hadn't given Sebastian the full orientation lecture that former-human Reapers got when they first woke up; an orientation which includes both the abilities and the limitations of their new forms.

After observing William and Ronald's actions during the Circus and Campania arcs, my headcanon is that Grim Reapers have a lot more speed and strength than humans do, and a lot more endurance as well; they can go for days without eating or sleeping. But they do need some sleep, at least 3-4 hours' worth once every three to four days, and they need to eat at least once every other day to stay in optimal condition. Sebastian, on the other hand, was used to regarding sleep as a luxury, _**not**_ a necessity, and he was used to going hungry for _**decades**_ while waiting for the very best souls to eat.

So the teacher is hard on him, always looking for something to fault him for? Fine, then, he'll become one hell of a student; he'll study hard, turn in stellar assignments and ace every single exam. He's sure that the other trainees in the dormitory still sleep every night because they're used to thinking like humans; their loss is his gain in study time during the quiet hours. And if the other trainees all shun him in the cafeteria and refuse to make room for him at their tables, that's fine, too; he can just study even more while they stuff their faces.

Sebastian was determined to be the best trainee the Reapers ever had, and he gave it his very best shot... right up until the day over two weeks after his arrival, when he dozed off in class during a particularly boring lecture, due to exhaustion and the first stages of starvation.

The trainer took the sight of one of his pupils falling asleep in class, just about as well as you'd imagine. Yes, Grim Reapers believe in corporal punishment for lapses in discipline. And yes, after his own painful experiences under Sebastian's tutelage, Ciel was among those sniggering when the switch was brought out... But Ciel was the first to stop sniggering when the switch strokes came down hard enough to actually draw blood.

Sebastian took the punishment stoically, not even flinching, which earned him grudging points from the rest of the students, not that they're any friendlier to him. But at the start of class the next day, when everyone rose to greet the instructor, Sebastian stood up—and then collapsed in a faint.

Poor Sebby was hauled off to the infirmary, and there was much speculation along the way that his demon essence is just incompatible with Reaper-hood and he's begun the process of 'disincarnating', soon to just cease to be on any plane of existence—which prospect made Ciel, trotting alongside the stretcher, go pale and silent. But then all was revealed when the doctor asked Sebastian when was the last time he ate or slept properly, and Sebastian said irritably that he has neither the time nor the inclination for such luxuries.

Shaking his head, the doctor explained the facts of shinigami life to the ex-demon. Sebastian promptly protested that _can't_ be right, there must be some mistake, he can't be so weak, etc., etc. Ciel just rolled his eyes and shook his head, and then dug into his own lunch carrier to find the dessert Ms. O'Sullivan had made for him. He marched up to a still-protesting Sebastian, shoved the chocolate éclair in front of his face and commanded, "Eat!"

Sebastian shut up and ate the éclair (which was deliciously sweet; the stunned ex-demon thought it was like tasting the soul of an angel.) And then he humbly thanked Ciel, but the former master, embarrassed at being caught showing he still cared for someone who never truly cared for him (or so Ciel still thought), was already turning away and all but fleeing the scene. Sebastian had no chance to go after him when the doctor pushed him back down to the cot while calling for a nurse to bring Sebastian far healthier fare, and then told Sebastian that if he didn't agree to stay in bed for a good long nap after eating, then he'd be strapped down for the rest of the day.

Gossip spread, as gossip always does, that the ex-demon that was Spears' pet project had collapsed in class. William Spears showed up first, as soon as he could get out of a middle-management meeting; after the doctor informed him of what happened and why, he bowed to Sebastian's sleeping form and silently left the room. Then Grell turned up at the infirmary a few hours later, and he blithely assured the doctor that he was there to take care of poor old Bassy-chan, as Spears had told him to.

The doctor agreed to release Sebastian into Grell's care, over Sebastian's own protests. Because of course Spears hadn't told Grell to do anything of the sort, Grell had just come on his own after hearing the gossip, more intrigued than concerned about the ex-demon's health. And when he found out why Sebastian had collapsed and how ignorant the ex-demon was about his new form, Grell had an idea...

Sebastian soon found out that Grell's idea of 'care' started with a trip to the nearest bar, and a round of drinks that were put on Grell's tab. "Oh, alcohol doesn't really affect us, not the way humans are affected; we just like the taste. And a Bloody Mary is full of tomato juice, Bassy; it's healthy as can be! If you drink enough of them, I guarantee you'll feel better!" All lies, but Sebastian had lost his innate ability to discern lies along with his demonhood, and Grell wanted to see if getting drunk would cause Sebastian to loosen up enough to agree to a good (violent) shagging.

Alcohol had never affected Sebastian before, but it does now, and he Does Not Like It One Bit. As a demon, an innate shapeshifter, his hallmark was Control; he had always been in control of himself, even on his wildest bloodthirsty killing sprees! But now he's feeling terribly unsteady after only twenty of those Bloody Mary drinks, and sleep is now a necessity, and so is eating human-style food, and he can't even _see_ properly without these damned spectacles and _it's just not right_! And Ciel won't even talk to him! If only he'd come to his senses sooner, five years ago, when Ciel had first been turned to demon... they could have been happy together in Paris, but instead he'd ruined it all... sob, sob... Instead of a mean drunk or a happy drunk, Sebastian is a _sad_ drunk. Disgusted, Grell calls him pathetic to his face before leaving the bar, abandoning Sebastian to cry into his drink.

Gossip spreads quickly again, about the ex-demon drowning his sorrows at the bar... And less than two hours later, Ciel marches into the bar, all but dragging a protesting Ronald Knox with him by the wrist. Ronald wants to know, why are they wasting time with that ex-demon trash? He's not Ciel's problem anymore... "But he _is_ , Ronnie. Sebastian was my servant for over three years, but for all the work he did for me, he never got paid properly. Since the terms of his hire were never properly fulfilled, he's still my responsibility, and it's a poor master who ignores the needs of his servants when they fall ill! ...Tch; passed out. Can you carry him by the shoulders? I'll get his feet..."

They drag him back to Ruth O'Sullivan's place, where Ciel has to exert every ounce of charm he can muster to convince her to allow the sodden drunk ex-demon to crash on her couch. Matters are _not_ helped when, as soon as he's set on the couch and fully horizontal, Sebastian pukes all over Ronald's shoes. Ciel's horrified at the blood-red vomit—internal hemorrhaging! But the more experienced Ronald shakes his head, he recognizes the smell of tomato-flavored puke, Sebby must have been drinking Bloody Mary's.

Sebastian mumbles that Grell had said they would make him feel better, but he only feels worse; then he starts blubbering apologies about all the ways he had failed his master, he was a failure as a demon and now he's a failure as a Grim Reaper, Grell was right to call him pathetic, etc., etc.

Awkward silence from the other Reapers in the room, as Ronald stares; what the heck has happened to the terrifyingly competent demon he's tangled with before? Then Ciel shushes Sebastian, finger-combs his hair for a moment, tells him to just sleep it off and they'll talk later. He gets maybe three steps away before Sebastian sits bolt-upright and then flops off the couch, his face a mask of horror as he reaches desperately for Ciel—the boy did that before, ran fingers through his hair and then walked away and _committed suicide_ , don't do it, young master, please!

Thinking that Sebastian is just worried about the contract making him die along with Ciel again, the boy uncomfortably starts to say that he doesn't need to worry, they don't have a contract anymore, and besides—he's cut off by Sebastian howling that he doesn't _care_ about the contract, just don't die and leave him again! He'll do anything, please, Ciel, anything!

Another awkward pause ensues among the three sober people, and Ciel finally tells Sebastian to not be foolish, he has no intention of doing anything like that again. He's just going to step out for a little while for an errand, and he promises that he'll be _right back_. But in the meantime Madam O'Sullivan is going to keep an eye on him, so he won't be alone. All right? Now sleep until you feel better, Sebastian; that's an order. Sebastian whispers with a tremulous smile, "Yes, my lord," and falls asleep.

Ciel goes to his room and gets the walking stick he painstakingly carved for himself over the last two weeks, then beckons Ron to follow him outside. Outside, he tells Knox with a stern expression, "I intend to have words with Grell Sutcliffe over his conduct this evening, and they will not be friendly words. Given Mr. Sutcliffe's larger size and violent tendencies, it is distinctly possible that violence will occur in this encounter. I would appreciate having a man at my back—but only if I am absolutely certain I can trust that man! Ronald Knox, you have been a fine guide and mentor to me in these last few weeks, but can I also trust you to _support_ me instead of hindering me during my meeting with Mr. Sutcliffe, no matter what happens?"

Knox says he can trust him; Mr. Spears appointed him as Ciel's mentor, and he has no intention of letting either Ciel or Mr. Spears down. Besides, now he actually feels kinda bad for Sebastian, who is about to experience the first and possibly the worst hangover of his afterlife; it was pretty lousy of Grell to deliberately get him drunk and then leave him there like that. So he shows Ciel where Grell lives, and then stands behind him, looking stern and protective-big-brotherly, when Ciel knocks on the door.

Grell answers the door—and without saying a word, Ciel punches him right in the nuts.

Grell shrieks and collapses at the surprise nut-punch, and Ciel whacks him on the head with the walking stick while he's still falling, and while Ron just stares in shock. And once Grell is down, Ciel proceeds to kick him and beat the shit out of him with the walking stick, shouting, "The only thing that gets your attention is _violence_ , you perverted monster! So I'm telling you in a way you should remember: Stay! Away! From my! _Butler_! ... _Former_ butler! Whatever! You stay away from Sebastian! Or the next time I catch you so much as _leering_ at him, I'll _castrate_ you with your own Deathscythe!"

And he's about to get in one last whack when his walking stick is knocked from his grasp and snapped in two by an extending pruner Deathscythe; William Spears has arrived. "Trainee Phantomhive, you had best have a very good explanation for why you decided to attack Mr. Sutcliffe on his own doorstep."

Ciel snaps that before he explains himself, he wants to hear Mr. Spears' explanation for the entire division's shoddy treatment of Sebastian! _Not_ briefed on essential knowledge that every Reaper must know, singled out time and again for punishment by the teaching staff, and when he ends up in the infirmary thanks to their combined abuse and neglect, he gets taken advantage of by a known _pervert_ who had probably intended to bugger his innards out before slicing him up for meat pies! Grell groans that he wasn't planning to make _pies_ of Bassy, but Ciel shouts right over him that any manager in Funtom Company who'd dealt so poorly with his workers, would have been fired on the spot!

Spears glares while Knox tries to pull him back, hissing that you don't talk to Management that way, is he trying to get himself killed?! Ciel breaks free of his grip while snapping, "I lost all fear of death _two lives ago_. And if I incarnate as an angel next, then _Heaven_ is going to regret it, because I have _so much more_ to say about _their_ policies and practices!"

Ron realizes with somewhat horrified admiration that the kid means every word; he's got solid bronze bollocks, all right! Then inspiration strikes and he whispers that Ciel had promised Sebastian he'd be right back; does he want to break that promise already? Ciel glares at him, but grudgingly apologizes to Spears for his harsh words regarding management... but not, to be quite clear, apologizing for his treatment of Grell Sutcliff, who had deserved every blow and more.

Long pause filled with tension... then Spears admits he's quite right about Sebastian having been treated poorly; he had been busy with staff reviews for the past two weeks and so had not followed up on the former demon's training as he had intended. And he himself must apologize to the demon for neglecting to give him the full orientation speech; his assumption that the demon already knew all their abilities and limitations from previous encounters in his long existence, was clearly in error. He had been over at the infirmary just now, looking to talk with Sebastian after he woke up and properly express that apology, when he'd been informed that Grell Sutcliff had been there and lied about having been ordered to take Sebastian under his care, when in fact Grell had been ordered to stay away from Sebastian until after his training was completed.

More talking ensues, and the long and short of it is: Ciel doesn't get punished for beating up Grell, whom Spears was going to suspend again but he'll let the beating stand as his punishment instead. Grell says with admiration that now he knows why Sebastian was so devoted to the brat, even after his suicide; such a fierce little doggy! Ciel learns from Grell how Sebastian acted towards him while he was comatose, how devoted the demon was and still is.

Back at Ruth O'Sullivan's place, they find Sebastian snoozing under a quilt; 'Ms. O', as Ron likes to call her, seems to have softened towards the former demon. The next morning Sebastian wakes up with a vicious hangover, whispering his pleas for someone to kindly decapitate him.

Ronald already left for his shift of Reaping duty, and Ciel has to go to his classes; Sebastian tries to get up and go with him, but Ciel reminds him the doctor ordered one more day of rest for him, which he needs even more now that he's hung over. While they're gone, William Spears comes by; he can spare only twenty minutes from his schedule, but he still owes Sebastian that apology.

Sebastian bluntly asks Spears why he let the demon commit suicide and become a Grim Reaper; even if he'd been under orders from the higher-ups to do so, it would have been easier to 'accidentally' kill him during that hours-long hunt in Paris and the huge fight at its finish. Spears candidly replies that he let Sebastian have that option because he had a strong hunch that, IF the demon could convert to Grim Reaper, he'd be an excellent one.

Spears says the entire Grim Reaper Association is riddled with slackers, people who just don't care to do a good job; they don't fill out their paperwork properly, they let demons snatch up souls without even trying to stop them, or they don't bother reviewing cinematic records to determine if the human scheduled to die is actually one of the very rare few who should be spared because of their potential to be beneficial to the entire world. And while Spears had accused Sebastian of being vermin before, he could never accuse him of being a slacker. The demon had always given his contractor 100% effort, frequently going beyond his expectations; now Spears expects him to have the same degree of dedication to duty in his new life. Sebastian thanks Spears for giving him the opportunity, and says that he'll give it his best effort.

Later, after Ciel returns from classes, he and Sebastian have a long talk, clearing the air between them. They agree that since they're both trainees here, equals, it's time they acted that way; not master and servant, but coworkers and friends. Sebastian would like to be _more_ than friends, but after Spears left and Sebastian was still in the midst of his hangover, Ms. O sat him down and firmly explained that while Ciel lives under her roof, their relationship will stay strictly platonic, or she would inflict enough pain on Sebastian to make his current utter misery seem delightful in comparison, and _then_ she'd get creative with him. Sebastian believes her, and promises that there will be no hanky-panky under her roof, though he makes no promises about after they've both completed training and Ciel is declared capable of living on his own.

So they're friends, and while Sebastian lives in his assigned dormitory, he comes over to Ciel's home often enough—and does a lot of cooking and baking while he's there; Ruth O'Sullivan appreciates his kitchen skills almost as much as Ciel does—that it becomes a second home for him. And while Sebastian keeps to his promise to keep things strictly platonic while Ciel is under Ms. O's roof... their activities while on long walks together are another matter entirely.

Fast-forward a couple of years: Grell Sutcliffe is dying. He got overexcited and a little careless while Reaping at the site of a bloody gang war on the docks of London, and he contracted Thorns of Death, the shinigami-exclusive disease that's actually a curse from a vengeful soul hating the one who Reaped them.

Both Ciel and Sebastian had decided to forgive Grell for getting Sebastian so disgracefully drunk that one time, acknowledging that each of them had callously used Grell to their own advantage more than once back when Ciel had been human and Sebastian a demon. And while Ciel never became friends with the scarlet Reaper, Sebastian had come to appreciate that Grell wasn't prejudiced against him, as so many shinigami were. And since Grell had agreed to 'respect Ciel's claim on Bassy' and stopped trying to seduce him, the former demon even became a casual friend to him, with a little harmless flirting between them (though _never_ within Ciel's hearing.) Now everyone is saddened to see that colorful figure, exasperating as he had been on so many occasions, just fading away like a rose losing its petals.

William Spears actually takes a leave of absence from work, to stay with Grell and care for him during his final days. On Grell's deathbed, he tells Sebastian, "Promise me, Bassy-chan, that you'll become one hell of a Grim Reaper; that you'll reap souls with Style!"

"I will, dear Grell," Sebastian assures him with a smile while lacing their fingers together. "Though I must find my own style for doing so, for surely no one could match your own unique style; nor should they try! Your uniqueness is part of what has made you so memorable, to all the Reaper Realm."

Grell sighs, "Oh, Bassy-chan, you always know just what to say to please a lady..." Grell dies a few days later, and in a way reminiscent of Madame Red's funeral, William Spears has the body laid out in a magnificent red ball gown.

Fast-forward a few more years: Sebastian had stuck to his plan to become a model student, and in fact did so well that he ended up being fast-tracked for graduation and becoming a full-fledged Grim Reaper, a full grade ahead of Ciel. But he makes some enemies along the way, other shinigami who can't stand the idea of a former demon joining their ranks and working as one of them. He also makes a few other friends, one of them a black man named Tobias Jones who actually sympathizes with Sebastian's encounters with prejudiced shinigami, because he had been faced with that same sort of prejudice on a daily basis back when he was alive.

Sebastian and Tobias end up as partners for their graduation Reaping assignment. Just as in the anime OVA episode "The Tale of William the Reaper", the two of them are sent out to observe a man scheduled to die soon, and then Reap him, collect his soul and cinematic record when he dies. But when Sebastian is given the target's name, he freezes for just a moment... it's Tanaka.

Tobias doesn't know Sebastian nearly as well as Ciel does, but he can tell something's bothering Sebastian while they observe the old man dying in a hospital bed. And when he finally finds out why, he's outraged; he'd asked their trainer once, and had been assured that no, the former humans would not be assigned to Reap any of their old families and friends for their graduation assignment, or even at any time in their first review period! This must be a mistake on someone's part, they should contact the head office... Sebastian shakes his head, no, he's actually sure this was deliberate, someone wants to see how he'll react. He'll be professional about this, he'll reap the elderly man's soul when the time comes. Tobias offers to do it in his stead, but Sebastian just thanks him kindly and says he'll do it; it actually gives him a reason to talk to Tanaka one last time—Whaat? Talk to the target before Reaping him? They can't do that! Oh yes they can; Sebastian reminds him of precedence, William Spears' own graduation assignment.

After lights out that night, Sebastian appears in Tanaka's hospital room. Tanaka is only a little surprised to see him; turns out Tanaka always knew he was supernatural and suspected the contract between him and the young master. Asks how Ciel is doing, Sebastian says there really isn't time to go into detail, but Ciel is doing well, studying hard in his new career, Sebastian is quite sure he'll become the top in his field someday. Tanaka says wistfully he had hoped to see the young master one last time, but Sebastian says he's not allowed to grant last wishes, that's strictly against the shinigami code.

Then Sebastian deliberately snaps his pen in half with an 'Oops' and declares he'll need to step out for a moment to get a new one, as he needs to note the details of the death in his notebook; he steps out and talks quietly to Tobias, who nods and cuts a doorway back to the Reaper realm. Then Sebastian goes back to talk with Tanaka, tells him his partner is going to bring him a new pen. Then Tobias cuts a doorway from the Reaper realm right into the hospital room-and through the doorway, Ciel can be seen silently waving to Tanaka; Sebastian quietly turns Tanaka to see Ciel while too-obviously thanking Tobias for bringing him the new pen. Tanaka smiles and waves back at Ciel, then the door seals shut and they're alone in the room again. Ten minutes later, Tanaka's lungs finally fail and Sebastian Reaps him; he reviews the cinematic record in silence, then bows deeply to honor Tanaka's lifelong service to the Phantomhive family.

He straightens up from the bow, perfectly calm even as he comes face-to-face with one of the shinigami who's been blatantly prejudiced against him; that shinigami sneers that Sebastian broke the rules, he granted a last request, he'll be flunked out of Dispatch service!

Sebastian has to stand in front of a review board, but he refutes the charge that he broke the rules of Dispatch. He cites William Spears' first reaping as precedence for making contact with the about-to-die, and then gets the review board to admit that it's not actually granting a last wish if that wish just happens to be fulfilled in the proper performance of Reaping duties. Sebastian needed a pen for his notebook, he knew Ciel always carries extra pens (he does), and obtaining one from a fellow student who was willing to provide it was quicker than requisitioning a new one from the supply office, it allowed him to complete the Reaping at the appointed time. But Sebastian readily admits he was lax in his performance, in not making sure every last piece of equipment was in optimal condition before setting out to do the Reaping; he should have checked his pen for stress fractures and signs of breakage beforehand, and he will willingly accept whatever discipline the review board assigns.

Sebastian gets a 'B—' instead of an 'A' for his assignment; the first less-than-A grade in his entire academic career, but he accepts it with his 'one hell of a butler' smile. Then Ciel, who's still present after Sebastian had him called in to testify that he always carries an extra pen, produces evidence that the shinigami who accused Sebastian of breaking the rules, had secretly altered the class assignments to make sure Sebastian was assigned to Tanaka's death. So instead of getting Sebastian kicked out of the program, that shinigami gets suspended for a full month. Afterwards, Sebastian congratulates Ciel on his detective skills in finding that evidence, and they have a quiet, private memorial service for Tanaka.

After becoming a full-fledged Death God, Sebastian is permitted to choose the gardening/ harvesting instrument his Deathscythe will resemble on assignments. And he astonishes everyone by choosing a small handheld pruner, secateurs much like the one he used to use for pruning the roses back at Phantomhive Manor. Most Grim Reapers prefer tools that greatly extend their reach, to distance themselves from the dying, but Sebastian doesn't mind getting close up and personal to do the job.

And even more surprisingly given his demonic background, Sebastian becomes well-known as one of the most compassionate shinigami in the Dispatch division. He never spares anyone on the 'To Die' list, no matter how much they plead or bargain to keep on living, but he eases their passing with soft words or a gentle touch whenever possible. He began the practice partly to defy the expectations of those prejudiced against him, those who had been so sure that he'd be viciously bloodthirsty and a disgrace to the title of Grim Reaper, and partly because easing the souls' passing greatly reduces the risk of contracting Thorns of Death like Grell Sutcliffe did. And while he never officially grants anyone's last request... occasionally, while he's off duty, things just seem to happen down in the mortal realm; odd, isn't it?

Then skip ahead another year or more of Reaper time, because it's time for Ciel's graduation assignment. And, unfortunately but pretty much as to be expected, Ciel has made a few enemies among his shinigami classmates as well. He's at the head of his class, due to being just as dedicated a student as Sebastian was, and several trainees resent the fact that someone so much younger than them continually outshines them in training; he's often accused of being teacher's pet, and much worse. There are also plenty of shinigami who hold him responsible for Sebastian's presence among them as well. That being the case, Ciel is just a touch paranoid that, just as with Sebastian's graduation assignment, his will involve Reaping someone he knew back when he was human. What if it's Lizzie, or Soma, or another of his former servants? He'd accepted Tanaka's passing calmly because the old man had lived a long life and died peacefully, but the others...

To assuage Ciel's fears, Sebastian finagles a sneak peek at the assignments list; he notes that Ciel will be assigned to reap some middle-aged woman named Beth _ in Blackpool, England. That's not a name Ciel is at all familiar with, and he never even visited Blackpool while he was human, so it's just some random stranger; what a relief.

Then Ciel pops into Blackpool on the day of his assignment... and is horrified to discover that Beth is actually _Elizabeth_ , his cousin and former betrothed, now married to someone else (hence the unfamiliar surname), and in Blackpool on holiday with her family when she's scheduled to die after being struck by a bottle at high speed (one carelessly tossed by a rider on Blackpool Pleasure Beach's most famous ride, Sir Hiram Maxim's Flying Machines.)

Ciel wants badly to run straight back to the Reaper Realm and protest his assignment, to say he can't do it... because he wants even more badly to keep Elizabeth from dying, take her name off the To Die list by claiming she is one who has potential to be beneficial to the entire world. Lizzie was his dearest friend as a child, and after forming a contract with Sebastian, he'd tried so hard to protect her from the darkness that became his world. He'd always wanted to keep her safe and happy; how could he let her die now?!

But she is on the To Die list, and Ciel has been training for years now to be a shinigami; striving to be consummately professional about it, using William Spears as his role model. Even Sebastian and Ronald Knox, though not as coolly emotionless as Spears is when Reaping, are professional about it and never shirk their duty. So he stays on site, doing his best to stay utterly emotionless and stone-faced; a _Grim_ Reaper indeed. His partner for the assignment knows nothing of his turmoil; a less-than-stellar trainee, he spends the time waiting for the Reaping just taking in the sights at the Pleasure Beach, sneaking onto the rides and such. And when the moment arrives and the bottle comes flying right at Beth's head while she's walking down the Promenade with her husband and children, Ciel does nothing to stop it. And after she's struck and collapses with a fractured skull, then he steps in and coldly Reaps her soul.

But it's the process of reviewing her cinematic record that finally does him in and breaks that stone-cold mask, because it shows all too plainly how much Lizzie had loved him; how she'd been so happy playing with him when they were children together, how much his first reported death at age 10 had crushed her, how delighted she'd been when he'd returned, and she'd loved him still despite all the grim changes in his demeanor. How much she'd been hurt by his cool behavior towards her, and how much she'd been utterly crushed once more, even worse than the first time, when he'd disappeared and been reported dead. Because she'd _known_ that the death had been faked, had known he was still alive and had chosen to abandon her; not knowing he'd been turned demon, she'd concluded it was because she just hadn't been good enough for him.

The cinematic record shows Ciel that it had taken over five long years for her to find reasons to smile again. She'd been married off at eighteen, to another noble her parents had chosen for her; not a bad man, but not her Ciel either, and at the start she could only muster a resigned sort of affection for him. It was her husband-to-be who had started calling her Beth instead of Lizzie, to avoid confusion because his own sister Elizabeth went by that nickname. And only after their marriage and after the children started coming, when he proved to be an affectionate husband and doting father, that Elizabeth had begun finding happiness in her life again. Now with two daughters and a son all growing up strong and cheerful, she had become truly happy, content in her life... and Ciel had just cut her down in the midst of her happiness. And now his assignment partner is staring at him in horror, asking how could he have done that...

Even as Ciel collapses in hysterical sobs, the air is sliced open and Sebastian comes hurtling through it, with Ronald Knox right behind him. Ron had just found out from overhearing a bar conversation, another shinigami's drunken boasting to his cronies, about how Ciel had been set up to fail his assignment. Ron knew Ciel was in for trouble, but only Sebastian knew just where and when his assignment was taking place, and after pooling their knowledge they hurried to take over the case for Ciel—but they're just seconds too late.

Sebastian carries the sobbing Ciel back to the Reaper realm, while Ron Knox rips the other trainee a new hole for not noticing his partner's distress and finding out what was going on sooner. William Spears _fires_ the shinigami who'd set him up, taking his Deathscythe away forever. Then Ruth O'Sullivan decides to 'express her displeasure'... and that shinigami is never, ever seen again. (Hey, there was a reason that Sebastian feared her threats, and that William chose her as Ciel's guardian in the first place...)

It takes a long time for Ciel to recover from the guilt and trauma of Elizabeth's Reaping, but he does, with Sebastian's loving care and with the support of his Reaper 'family' (Ronnie, Ruth, William and even Tobias Jones.) When he's finally declared ready for field work and invited to choose the form of his own Deathscythe, Ciel chooses the same sort of telescoping pruner William Spears uses; not to emulate his Reaper role model (though Spears was widely rumored to have actually _smiled_ at seeing Ciel wielding it, the first time the teen reported for assignment.) He chose it because Ciel is still on the small side (and still rather sensitive about it), and that model of Deathscythe greatly extends his reach.

Ciel and Sebastian sometimes work together in the field, and sometimes work with other shinigami; Sebastian with Tobias, and Ciel with another Reaper from his class named Nathan—a nonstop chatterbox of a fellow, but he admires Ciel's academic brilliance and hard work ethic instead of scorning his youth, so Ciel tolerates him. Nathan's admiration for Ciel only grows after one assignment early in their career, when they're faced with a hungry demon that wants the souls they're Reaping.

Everyone has heard that Sebastian has little to no sympathy for his former brethren, and moreover knows just how to fight them no matter what form they take; Tobias loves to tell the story of how Sebastian used his secateurs to _snip_ the head right off a demon, while saying scornfully that if it can't be bothered to properly contract for souls to eat, then he can't be bothered to let it exist any longer. But Sebastian is nowhere around on this assignment, so Nathan is freaked and more than a little scared of the demon that first tries to threaten them away from its prey and then to trick them away, but Ciel is unafraid of even its most monstrous form, and sees right through the tricks as well. The demon ends up writhing at the end of Ciel's extending Deathscythe, skewered right through and rapidly disincarnating while Ciel sneers aloud that it's "a disgrace to your own kind; you couldn't even hold a candle to my Sebastian! He would have at least..." his voice trails off as he glances over at where Nathan is avidly listening, and then he blushes bright red while snapping at the demon, "Oh, just die already!" And after it's gone, he threatens his now smirking colleague, "Not one word of that to anyone back home, or you'll be handling the next demon without any help at all!"

Ciel and Sebastian both rise steadily in the organization due to their dedicated work ethic, brilliance and efficiency. They rise high enough that many years later, when William Spears retires, Ciel becomes manager of the entire British division of the Grim Reaper Association, while Sebastian becomes his head of Dispatch. They both end up putting in overtime far too often, they're overworked and dealing with budget cuts and etc. But they have each other, and they have other friends for company, and they have work to keep them from being bored for the rest of their extremely long lives; that's enough for a reasonable version of Happily Ever After.

The End! :-)


End file.
